NASS Moves to Digitise Legislative Records and Translate Nigerian Laws into Indigenous Languages
By Ekocity Magazine — Politics & Governance Desk
ABUJA — Nigeria’s National Assembly is moving to deepen public access to the country’s legislative history, with plans to digitise more parliamentary records and translate Nigerian laws into indigenous languages including Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
The initiative, announced as the 2026 National Assembly Library Week opened in Abuja on September 28, is being presented as part of a broader effort to preserve Nigeria’s democratic memory while making the work of the legislature easier for citizens to understand and access. The three-day programme is themed “Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People.” (The Sun Nigeria)
Henry Nwawuba, Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, said the proposed translation programme is intended to broaden access to legislative information and help more Nigerians understand laws that affect their everyday lives.
The plan comes at a time when the National Assembly Library is already undertaking a significant digital transformation. According to figures released by the library, 8,584 legislative materials have been digitised, including 4,425 Votes and Proceedings. More than 7,000 library resources are also reportedly available to legislators, researchers, students and members of the public. (NALTF)
The significance extends beyond simply converting paper documents into electronic files.
For decades, parliamentary records have been scattered across physical archives, publications and institutional collections. Digitisation offers a way to preserve those records against physical deterioration while making them searchable and potentially accessible to researchers and citizens beyond Abuja.
The National Assembly Library describes itself as the custodian of Nigeria’s legislative memory, holding books, newspapers, photographs, manuscripts and audio-visual records documenting the country’s parliamentary history. (NALTF)
The digital programme is also being linked to a wider effort to bring Parliament closer to the public. Earlier this year, the library announced a mobile application designed to allow Nigerians to track bills, search library resources, access research materials and receive updates on parliamentary proceedings. The initiative was described as a way of putting legislative resources into the hands of citizens regardless of where they live. (TheCable)
The language component could prove equally significant. Nigeria is a multilingual country in which legal and parliamentary business is predominantly conducted in English. Translating legislation into widely spoken Nigerian languages could make important legal information more accessible to citizens who are more comfortable reading Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba.
The idea is not entirely new. Lagos State, for example, began work on translating its laws into Yoruba in 2024, with officials arguing that greater linguistic accessibility could improve legal understanding and civic participation. (Legit.ng – Nigeria news.)
But translating legislation presents its own technical challenge. Laws contain precise legal concepts whose meanings can change if terminology is poorly rendered. Any federal programme will therefore require qualified legal translators, linguists and legislative experts, as well as a clear process for checking translations against the authoritative English versions.
For the National Assembly, the larger ambition appears to be the creation of a legislative information system in which historical records, current bills, Acts, committee reports and parliamentary proceedings can be preserved and accessed through modern digital tools.
The library says its existing work already includes the preservation of legislative documents such as Order Papers, Votes and Proceedings, committee reports, Acts, gazetted laws and oversight manuals. It is also developing infographics, audiovisual materials and video explainers intended to simplify parliamentary procedures and legislation for the public. (The Sun Nigeria)
That transformation could change how Nigerians interact with Parliament. A citizen who once needed to visit Abuja or locate a physical government publication could increasingly be able to search for a bill, follow its legislative journey, examine parliamentary records and access explanatory material from a phone.
The challenge now is execution: maintaining accurate digital archives, ensuring long-term preservation, protecting records from unauthorised alteration and making translated material available without creating confusion over which version carries legal authority.
If successfully implemented, the project would represent more than an upgrade to the National Assembly’s filing system. It would be an attempt to turn Nigeria’s legislative history into a living public resource — one that can be searched, studied and understood by a wider section of the population.
For a democracy whose laws shape everything from taxation and business to citizens’ rights and public spending, the question is increasingly not simply whether laws are made, but whether citizens can easily find, understand and follow them.
Fawumi Kayode Abiodun
Political Analyst | CEO, Ekocity Media | Publisher, Ekocity Magazine and The Capitol Post
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